The UK government has welcomed the decision by De Beers, the world's largest diamond producer, to stop buying diamonds from Angola.

The company announced on Tuesday that it had placed an embargo on the purchase of diamonds from the war-torn country.

UK Foreign Office Minister Peter Hain said in a statement that the decision was excellent news. He said he hoped others would follow the company's example.

Unita is said to have made millions by selling diamonds

The move came against the background of increasing international efforts to tighten UN sanctions on the Unita rebels in Angola, and to restrict the illicit trade in diamonds, which is seen as a major source of funding for conflicts in Africa.

'Millions for Unita'

It has been estimated that Unita has earned several hundred million dollars in the past five years from diamond sales.

But such sales have also helped fuel conflicts in Sierra Leone and elsewhere.

At the weekend, a group of human rights organisations launched a campaign to try to tighten up the trade.

But governments are also taking the issue more seriously. The United States, the UK and Canada have all publicly backed moves recently to restrict the illicit trade.

Officials from a number of countries have been meeting in Washington this week under the auspices of the US State Department.

According to UK officials, the issue is being addressed as a matter of urgency. But they also say that it is early days in terms of trying to produce concrete proposals.

According to them, the problem is trying to tighten controls on the illegal trade without damaging the very lucrative legitimate market for diamonds.